CHAPTER RATING: T (Language)

Chapter 3: Prologue, Part II: Before the Elements

*Ahem* (Avatar Roku's voice) PREVIOUSLY, ON AVATAR…

"Toph, you haven't seen Aang, have you?" Katara asked. Then froze as she realized what she had just said. "Sorry. But, you know what I mean."

"Yeah." Toph replied.

"So, you've seen him?!"

"No," Katara hung her head in shame. "I meant, I understand what you meant." Toph shrugged. "But let me just check. She tapped her heel on the ground, and through the vibrations of the Earth, saw everything that scurried on the ground. "There he is." She pointed up towards a cliff. "He's sitting alone, probably meditating."

...

Aang sat atop a cliff, his legs crossed, hands at his sides. With deep breaths, he lost himself in the cold air of the mountain, his mind began to wander. His spirit began to rise out of his body. He felt free, as free as the air he bent. He was floating above the mountain itself, when a white light shone in front of him.

"You sought me out, and I come to answer your call." Roku answered in his harsh voice. Aang bowed to his former self.

"Avatar Roku, I may have to do something that I don't think I can."

"You mean..."

"I may have to kill him." Aang was blunt.

"Aang, I know that you want to keep your innocence, to keep you hands clean-"

"But the Fire Lord must pay for what he's done."

"Kiyoshi." Aang saw a woman dressed in her green robes, and golden crown. Her expression hidden by customary face paint of the Kiyoshi Warriors.

"Aang." Her voice was stern. "He has taken so many lives in his hundred-year war, hundreds of thousands have died by the command of one man. He must pay with his life. Justice must be served."

"I never faced the trouble that presents itself to you today." Another rough voice came.

"Kuruk" this time, Aang faced a man who was clothed in blue and white.

"But it is not our responsibility." He held his arms open to the other Avatars. "This is an obstacle that you need to face. You are the Avatar at this space in time. It is up to you to decide how to solve this world's problems, to bring balance once again."

"There is always another way." A soft voice echoed in the sky.

"Yangchen" He bowed.

"Avatar Aang." An airbender stepped into his view. Her hair, long, but her features, remeniscent of his own, showed a blue arrow, against a bare forehead that all Air Nomads had. "My time as the Avatar was filled with violence, I was willing to do whatever it took to keep the peace."

Aang felt a knot form in his stomach.

But there is always another way." She reassured him. "Like how the air flows, to find the easiest path, the clearest path, is never the only path." she pointed behind him.

The voices of the four Avatars merged.

"Seek us out, and we will come." His eyes opened, and somehow, he felt like Yangchen was still urging him to look ahead, pointing at Momo.

"Am I supposed to follow Momo?" Aang asked aloud. No answer came. But he felt a breeze urge him on. Momo stared at Aang, as if he was waiting. "I...guess that's a yes. Lead on, little buddy." Aang followed, as Momo led.

...

"... And, he's gone." Toph frowned. She tapped her foot on the ground. "Nothing. He must be in the air."

Katara looked up into the sky, her vision blurred, then two shadows appeared. They circled down, Aang landed, greeting the group with a smile.

"Hey everyone, is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine." Sokka answered. "Food's almost ready too." He stared with anticipating eyes into the stew that hung over the open fire.

"Toph says you've been meditating." Aang turned to see Katara. "Is everything alright with you?"

"Yeah." He placed a hand on the back of his neck. "Everything's great." His gaze shifted away from her.

"Give us a break, Twinkletoes." Toph's toes twitched a she stood with cross arms. "You don't have to lie to us."

"Alright." He took in a deep breath. "I asked the former Avatars if there was another way to defeat the Fire Lord."

"That's better!" Toph interjected.

"Anyway." Aang let a small smile take his expression at her comment. "I asked them, and they didn't give me the answer I wanted to hear."

"So…You have to kill him?" Sokka sighed. "How else can we make sure that O-zai's reign of terror is O-ver?" His sarcastic grin prompted looks of disdain from the others.

"But it's not all hopeless." Aang recovered. "Yangchen-" They looked at him, expecting clarification. "The last Airbender Avatar, told me that there was another way."

"How?" Katara replied. Aang shook his head.

"I'm not sure, but I think…" He looked over at Momo. The lemur returned the same look of confusion, and began to rummage through his fur, before flicking a bug off of his finger. "I'm supposed to follow Momo…?"

"Maybe we should eat first." Katara offered. The knot in Aang's stomach disappeared, hunger taking its place.

"I've got you covered!" Sokka exclaimed. "Vegetable soup." He took a sip of the broth, and cringed. "Delicious to the Avatar…Bearable to the rest of us." Toph and Aang slammed their feet into the ground, creating bowls and spoons of hard rock. Katara extracted the water from some leaves, ran them over the utensils, and returned the liquid.

"Let's eat!" Aang smiled as stomach growled.

…

The glowing fire continued to glow in the night. Aang stared into the dancing flames, hypnotized by the red embers; his eyes, becoming heavy. He waved his hand, feeding air into the flames when they started to weaken.

He looked deeper into the firepit, his vision rugged from the smoke, and blurred as the heat distorted the image in front of him. His eyes focused again, and within the scarlet flames, sat a spark a blue that began to grow. It expanded until the entire fire was a dark sapphire.

In a surge, heat rushed towards him. His eyes stinging from the explosion, the flash of blue whipped his head back. Pain echoed through his temples as he opened his eyes.

W…What was that?

A purring sound breached the silence in his ears. The world returned to him, he found Momo lurking above him, green eyes glowing like fireflies in the moonlight. He sat up again, rubbing his eyes, and looked back into the now once again-scarlet flames.

"Ouch…My head." Momo tugged on his pants leg. "What is it, Momo?" The lemur purred again, looked back, began walking again, and then looked back. "Oh-Okay…Just give me a minute."

…

"Sokka…" Aang gently pushed his shoulder. "Sokka…"

"Hmm?" Sokka turned back to face him. "What's wrong?"

"Sokka, I need you to watch the fire. I've got to go." Aang whispered.

"Yeah." Sokka snorted. "Sure, when you gotta go, you gotta go." He turned and immediately began snoring.

Aang raised an eyebrow, shrugged, and then turned towards Momo. He motioned for the lemur to lead, and as he followed, he tossed a few logs of firewood into the still, dancing flames.

He didn't know how long he walked, but soon found himself before a large body of water. A single landmass sat on the horizon: a thick forest on a small hill.

"What do I do?" He asked Momo. The lemur drew a an 'x' into the sand. Aang nodded, feigning understanding, and sat down, he closed his eyes, and began meditating.

When he opened his eyes, the sun was rising, the orange dawn, growing. Aang opened his eyes, and fell backwards just as he had the night before.

"W-What the..." His eyes darted left and right "Momo?!" No reply came.

The island looks bigger than before...

"Momo?!" He cried again to no reply. In the place on a light purr, was a massive rustling. The ground rumbled, the water scattered with ripples across the surface.

Emerging from the lake, was what looked like a giant lion head, with the body of a turtle. Aang fell to his knees, his palms flat, his forehead digging into the sand.

"Great Lion turtle...It is an honor to be in your presence."

"Young Avatar." The Lion turtle spoke. "I have not seen your kind in 10,000 years." His voice rumbled, causing the leaves to shake. "You come seeking knowledge."

"Yes, Great Lion turtle. Can you help me?" He returned to his feet as he answered. The Lion turtle raised his paw, with two claws, he touched Aang's chest, and forehead.

"The true mind can weather all the lies and illusions without being lost. The true heart can tough the poison of hatred without being harmed. From beginningless time darkness thrives in the void. But always yields to purifying light."

A green aura emanated from the claws of the great beast.

"In the Mythic age, we bent the energy within us, not the elements themselves. In your heart, you must be stout. In your mind, you must be steadfast. In your spirit, you must be unbendable."

The aura began to fade. Aang bowed again as the Lion turtle retreated into the water, until it disappeared from his vision.

A/N:

PUBLISHED ON: 7/22/2014

I don't remember the last time I wrote two chapters so close to one another. I wanted to get the prologue done within a day, to write more, but it took longer than expected to get everything right. As of this note, everything is still in the air. The update frequency, the whole story, even the next chapter itself is only a idea...I don't just want to rewrite the last story arc. I want to change it in some way...I just don't know how yet.

Thanks for reading!